A Toxic Collaboration: Using SPIONS and Shrimp to Bridge Courses in Chemistry and Biology for Undergraduate Engineering Students.

Abstract

Chemistry and biology are naturally symbiotic disciplines, which provide foundation for other related areas such as engineering. At Wentworth Institute of Technology, the majority of students enroll in our Engineering Chemistry course and many others will also take Cellular and Molecular Biology, either to fulfill a major requirement or science elective. It is between these two courses that we have designed a collaborative project investigating the synthesis and biological relevance of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). SPIONs are at the forefront of investigation across several different fields, which makes them an exceptional interdisciplinary educational tool. This project specifically focuses on the role of SPIONs as contrast agents for MRI, which directly relates to future coursework for our biomedical and biological engineering majors; however, the construction of the NMR and MRI instruments, including the superconducting coil, provides interest for our electrical and mechanical engineering students. Students in chemistry are paired with cohorts of biology students and directed to compile their experimental data to generate a complete narrative related to the synthesis and uptake of SPIONs by brine shrimp. Numerous synthetic variations of SPIONs are available, thus allowing students to develop and test a hypothesis relating to either the magnetic properties or toxicity of the nanoparticles, which can only be explained and supported at the conclusion of both experiments.The collaboration culminates with a video lab report, developed and presented by both cohorts of students. Scores are generated based on presentation style and creativity, scientific accuracy, ability to develop and explain their hypothesis, data analysis and interpretation of findings on a larger scale. The collaboration takes place over the course of 3 2‐hour lab periods, with additional check points during the biology component. Two of these periods are designated for synthesis and characterization of SPIONs by the chemistry students and one lab period is designated for induction of toxicity assays and cytotoxicity analysis by the biology students.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the Department of Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.